Hello, You Fabulous People!
Yes, it is I, Dinah Lavender, author of over one hundred delicious romance novels, and here I
am, sharing all my secrets with you.
Wait.
Sorry. It’s me, Nancy Thayer. I want to thank you all for being part of a book club, for loving and
discussing books. I hope my books add something pleasurable and meaningful to your lives.
My novels center around family and friendship, although there’s always some romance thrown
in, because we all want romance in our lives, don’t we? Or do I mean love? What’s the difference
between romance and love? A good discussion question, don’t you think?
I’m often asked where my ideas come from. The truth is that I’m inspired by the people I know
in my life and the various losses, heartbreaks, and challenges they’re going through. Sometimes,
though, a character will actually appear out of thin air. That’s where Dinah Lavender came from.
I was at my computer, starting to write The Summer We Started Over. I wanted to center the book
on a family recovering from deep personal loss. Just then, one of my best friends called. Her
name is Dinah, she lives in Palm Beach, and she’s the most glamorous, fabulous, generous, and
drop-dead gorgeous person I know. As we spoke on the phone, a voice in my head said: Dinah
Lavender, a romance writer! My real Dinah’s last name is not anything like Lavender and she
doesn’t write novels.
I could hardly get off the phone fast enough. I started tapping away on my computer about
Dinah Lavender, the romances she writes, how she looks, and the part she plays in my new
novel. Dinah Lavender was completely there, as if she’d been beamed down from a cloud. A
lavender cloud. With sparkles.
I’ve dedicated the book to my real friend Dinah because she was the beginning of the inspiration. I have never read Barbara Cartland, who wrote 723 novels, but I suggest you Google her, just to see what she looked like.
I hope you enjoy meeting Dinah, and all the people in The Summer We Started Over.
Love,
Nancy
Oodles of hugs and kisses,
Dinah